


The Yellow Brick Road (Is Actually Rainbow Coloured)

by Marie_Phantom



Series: Tumbleweed (Blowing In The Wind) [14]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Bucky's Fuck Off Metal Arm, Mpreg, Multi, Odin's A+ Parenting, Past Rape, Team as Family, The Avengers are Good Bro's, Thor Is Not Stupid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-24
Updated: 2015-03-24
Packaged: 2018-03-17 03:58:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3514511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marie_Phantom/pseuds/Marie_Phantom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Thor has to go back to Asgard to register his coming baby, it brings Loki back to a place he swore never to return to. Luckily, he gets to bring along his friends for support.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Yellow Brick Road (Is Actually Rainbow Coloured)

**Author's Note:**

> This story came about from a comment from Francis, who wrote it in He's Worth Waiting For. But it's also a story I believe is necessary.

It starts, of course, with Odin. In hindsight, Thor never expected himself to make the first move, and Loki would rather chew off his own fingers than willingly contact his estranged adoptive father. But Thor missed his home on occasion, and even though he had made a new one on Midgard, he would look out of the window and sometimes wish for the green gardens on his youth.

It's well into Loki's tenth month, and towards the end of July, which means that Loki is currently spending most of his time blue, in an effort to combat the heat and discomfort. The baby is kicking up a storm, and most nights see Loki awake and on the communal floor, talking with either Bucky or Liesle, or sometimes both. Sometimes Hela joins them. She doesn't sleep much, and so can often do some work listening to her mother and his friends. She enjoyed it, her unsettling appearance not withstanding.

But it's during a communal movie night, when everyone is talking or laughing, when Thor looked over to the window and saw two ravens sitting there, staring at him. His heart nearly stopped beating in his chest.

"Thor?" Loki asked, looking over his shoulder at Thor. Loki was sitting on the floor where he could stretch his legs out, and leaning back against Thor's legs, with Thor's hand buried in his hair. But the hand had stopped scratching.

Thor smiled and looked down at Loki. The man was pale skinned and flushed, the summer air lending a blush to his cheeks that in any other situation Thor would have found messily appealing. But instead he felt cold with panic.

"Nothing, love." He said instead, smiling at Loki. Loki continued to frown at him, until Tony chucked a peanut at his head.

"Loki, look at the screen. The lawyer is about to get scoffed by the T-Rex!"

Loki gave Thor one last look but turned back, right when people started cheering for the dinosaur.

Thor settled back into the cushions, but his enjoyment was gone. Instead, all he could think about was the fact that Huginn and Muninn were sitting at the window looking at him, and that could only mean that Odin had finally pulled himself away from his throne to look at his son, and did not like what he was seeing.

Thor went to be that night distracted, and Loki noticed but said nothing. He was Jotun again, and Thor merely pulled him into his arms and ward off the heat. But he didn't sleep and when he got up in the morning, he was in a filthy mood. Loki said nothing, but pulled hi fruit juice out of the fridge and poured it out for himself, saying nothing.

It was only after breakfast was finished and cleared away, and Thor was getting ready to go down to the gym, when Loki put a cold hand on Thor's arm and forced him to look into Loki's red eyes.

"You will tell me eventually." He said. It was not a question, and Thor wasn't stupid enough to ignore what Loki was going on about.

"I shall. But I trust that you will let me deal with this in my own time."

Loki nodded but didn't smile. Thor frowned and cupped his face. Loki sighed and closed his eyes, nuzzling into Thor's palms.

"No more secrets, I promised you." Thor whispered. "But I need to get things ready before I tell you, especially in your current condition."

"It's a baby, not a terminal disease." Loki said. But he didn't disagree.

"I can't worry you, it'll be bad for the baby. So let me sort things out, and then I'll tell you, yes?"

Loki nodded, then kissed Thor and left the floor to spend the day with Sleipnir. His eldest child was in the middle of painting, but on the balcony where the light was best, so the paint fumes wouldn't affect Loki.

Thor watched Loki leave, then he swallowed his nerves and went down to the gym, intent on beating his problems out.

It didn't work, but it was a great distraction.

He went back to his floor around lunchtime, and was guzzling water when he heard tapping at the window of his living room. He wandered over to the balcony doors and saw the ravens alternately tapping at the window. When they saw him looking they stopped, and Thor glared at them. He got the impression that if they could have, they would have been grinning enormously. He had always hated those ravens, even since he was a child and they had got revenge for him grabbing at them by yanking his hair.

"Huginn, Muninn." He greeted. The ravens cackled and he gritted his teeth, waiting them out. They finished and ruffled their feathers.

"Young Prince." Greeted Muninn. Thor was surprised to find himself still a prince, considering that the last time he was there he publicly sided with Loki against his father. In all honesty, he thought he was without a home.

"I take it you have a message for me." Thor crossed his arms and glared at the birds. They starred back at him, and he refused to show how unnerved he was by their endless black stares.

"Your father wonders about you." Huginn said.

"He sent us to have a peak, see if your were okay." Muninn added.

"And imagine our surprise," they said together, "when we saw you having a baby with the usurper."

"The Jotun runt." Huginn.

"The false prince." Muninn.

"If you want to get flattened, by all means, carry on." Thor waved a hand, and both of the ravens squawked at their feathers rose with static electricity Thor was producing as a warning.

"We mean no offence." Huginn simpered. He bowed and held out his wings, his brother doing the same thing.

"We just want to report back that you are happy and healthy with your mate." Muninn added.

"Besides," Huginn said, "we'll be seeing you soon, since you have to come to Asgard to register your coming baby to ensure that it remains in line with the Throne anyway."

Thor went cold. "What?" he asked faintly.

Both the ravens eyes glittered with triumph. "You forgot." Huginn sniped at him. "Even though Loki has been cut from eligibility from the throne, his children have not. The next in line to the throne after you is Sleipnir."

Thor gaped. "He doesn't want to be king. He's a painter."

"We know." The humour was gone from the gaze of the ravens. Now, they were serious. "With the exception of Hela, who is Queen of her own kingdom, all of Loki's sons have claim to the throne as they were never disinherited." Huginn reminded Thor.

"But with your baby, if you register it in time, it becomes your heir above Loki's children, which seems to be preferable, as they have their own lives down here." Muninn said quietly.

Thor turned and ran a hand through his hair. He bit his lips and didn't jump as he felt the ravens alight on his shoulders. 

"You need to come to Asgard to register the next heir." Muninn whispered.

"Loki won't go." Thor said.

"Convince him" Huginn added.

"Have you met Loki?" Thor asked wryly. The ravens cackled softly.

"He'll come around for you." Muninn.

"He always comes around for you." Huginn.

Thor sighed deeply and tipped his head back. Finally he said "Tell Father we will be there in 2 weeks from today. I think I'll be able to convince Loki by then."

The ravens nodded. "As you wish." Muninn said and they took off.

Thor looked into the rooms, mentally cataloguing everything in case this was one of the last times he got to see it. Then he strode to elevator, seeking out Loki so that he could make the first move to convincing him.

He hoped that this wouldn't be too difficult.

 

 

**********

 

 

He was completely wrong.

"Are you fucking crazy!?" Loki snarled, standing up and striding up to Thor, one hand protectively on his baby bump, the other reaching out and grabbing Thor's shirt strap, dragging him from the balcony. Sleipnir gave Thor a sardonic wave with a paint stained hand and then turned back to his painting. Thor huffed, knowing he was going to get no help from that quarter.

Loki dragged Thor to the elevator, fuming, and then rode in silence to their floor, where he pushed Thor out and came after him like the vengeful mother he was.

"I'm assuming that, in between the time I left and you arrived that the sun has fried your brains to the extent that you would even consider me going back to that place." Loki said coldly. In response to his voice and the heat in the air, his body turned blue.

"Loki..." Thor tried. He then stopped and ran a hand through his hair, unable to put into words what needed to be done that would not sent Loki into s spiralling rage.

"Because I'm sure you remember under what conditions I left." Loki said through gritted teeth. "I usurped the king, tried to kill you repeatedly, and until the time when I left I was considered dead. I'm not welcome on Asgard, not do I want to go back."

"I need you to go back." Thor said quietly. Loki sniffed.

"And what about what I need? Thor, I am ten months pregnant. I am well within the safety time for which I can give birth. I can't travel, let alone go to a place where my baby will be in danger. What if I give birth there? I will be loosing the protection that Midgard can give the child if it is born a citizen of this planet. Thor, Odin loathes me, and he loathes my children. What if he tried to kill it? It's not outside of the realm of possibility."

By the end of his speech Loki was biting his lip to prevent tears escaping from his eyes. Thor wanted nothing more than to wipe away those tears an hold Loki in his arms, but he stood firm.

"Loki, this is about safety, not only for yourself, but also for the babe."

"How is that so?" Loki hissed. His sharp teeth clenched together, and Thor was uncomfortably reminded about the Jotun of his childhood, the monsters they had been in his child mind.

"You are carrying an heir to the throne."

"I thought you gave that up so that you could be with Jane." Loki said. Thor could hear the hurt in his voice, and longed to reach out. But he still needed to argue his point.

"That was to you, and I have had word that Father still considers me his immediate heir."

"Word from whom?"

"Huginn and Muninn."

"Those turkeys!" Loki raged. He had liked the ravens even less than Thor had. "Have they been spying on us?"

"Yes. And it is from them that I know that this child is the second in line to the throne. But it can only be so if we go and get it registered. Until that time, it has as much claim as an illegitimate child has."

"It may as well be, for I am not your spouse." Loki murmured.

"You do not want to marry me, for what we have transcends that, I know." Thor put a hand on Loki's shoulder, which was not shrugged off. "But this child is mine, and I am heir to the throne of Asgard. This child is second in line. But if we do not go and register it, then the next in line would be Sleipnir."

Loki looked at Thor, open mouthed. "But I am dis-inherited." He said softly. "How can my children be in line when I am not?"

"Odin's rulings." Thor said. He knew that being dis-inherited had hurt Loki badly, and was a driving force with him not wanting to go back to Asgard. "You cannot inherit, but your children can with the exception of Hela, who had her own Kingdom."

"Sleipnir would sooner die than be king."

"That I know. And that is why we need to register our baby." Thor put a hand on Loki's bump and caressed it slowly. "Your children do not want the throne, but at this current point, the only thing standing between it and them is me. With this babe, that distanced is increased to such an extent so that they may feel safe from it."

Loki allowed Thor to hold him. But when Loki turned to look Thor in the face, his eyes were stony and his heart sank.

"I'm not going back to that gilded cage." He said flatly and stormed off to their bedroom. Thor tried to follow but the door slammed in his face. He tried the lock but found it ice cold, and knew that Loki had frozen the door shut.

"Loki, open the damn door." He said, pounding on it.

"Go and sleep somewhere else!" Loki yelled, and Thor gave a great sigh, slamming his head against the door and then sliding down to the floor.

That night, as Steve and Bucky were wrapping up to go to bed, the elevator door dinged open and Thor stepped inside with a sheepish look on his face.

"May I use your couch for sleep tonight?" he asked. "Loki won't let me in the room."

"Has this got something to do with hime not wanting to go back to Asgard?" Bucky asked wryly, as Steve went to get blankets.

"Were we really that loud?" Thor sighed, coming in to the room properly and sinking down onto the couch.

"No, but Sleipnir has a large mouth."

"Damnation." Thor said under his breath. Bucky clapped him on the shoulder and then went to their bedroom, passing Steve who threw blankets at Thor and told him to get comfortable. Thor thanked them and settled down, whilst Bucky and Steve stripped off and got into their own (very comfortable and firm) bed.

It was in the middle of the night when Steve gave up on sleep and got out of bed, gently wrapping Bucky's arms around a pillow when he mumbled and frowned. He tiptoed out of the room and saw Thor was curled up in his nest, only the tufts of his hair showing. He walked to the stairs (not wanting to use the elevator in case it woke someone) and walked up to Loki's floor, running his hand over the recognition software at the door so that he would be allowed entry. The door opened and he went in quietly, closing the door behind him. He walked to the bedroom door and knocked on it, idly noting that the door handle was no longer frozen.

"Thor, get stuffed." He heard Loki say. Steve frowned when he noted that Loki sounded stuffy, like he was speaking through a blocked nose and his voice was weak.

"Loki, it's Steve. May I come in?" Steve asked softly. There was a pause.

"I take it Thor is with you."

Steve nodded, and then realised that Loki could not see it. "He's on the couch, curled up into a little ball. Can I come in?"

After another pause, the door opened of its own accord, and Steve stepped into the room. The room itself was cold, but the bed was still made, indicating that Loki hadn't even laid in it. Instead he was sitting in the darkness on the side of the bed, bare feet flat on the floor. He had his shirt off and was holding his belly, stroking it gently.

"Loki?" Steve asked and shut the door. He went over to Loki and touched his blue shoulder. "Loki, you should be sleeping."

"My mind will not let me sleep." Loki whispered. Steve bit his lip and then sat down beside Loki. He wrapped a hand around Loki's ignoring his claws, and together the rubbed back and forth over the swollen belly.

"Is this about Asgard?" Steve asked gently. Loki hissed in anger.

"Does Thor's mouth know no restraints?" he asked harshly.

"This time it was Sleipnir." Steve said quickly.

"Oh." Loki subsided. He rolled his shoulders and turned back to pale. "My son told you?"

Steve nodded. "He told us when Thor was coming down. He overheard you."

Loki snorted wetly. "Deliberately overheard us."

"Most likely."

"He was ever one for gossip."

They sat in silence for while, until Loki sniffed wetly and grasped his stomach tightly.

"I cannot go back." Loki whispered finally. Steve grasped his hand tighter. "Steve, I cannot go back. I hate it there. I...they..." He swallowed and tried again. "I had no friends, no one except Thor and my mother. And Odin, for a time. I had my children, and yet they were all taken from me, or they left. Except for Sleipnir, but he could never set foot in the castle, for he was the Kings Horse, not his grandson. I was so lonely, and unhappy, that when I left, I would have stayed here even if the rest of you had shunned me forever, because at least I would have had Thor. But here, I have a family, and my children, and even if the world doesn't like me, it appreciate my magic. I cannot go back, because I do not want to feel that overwhelming sense of  _loss._ I have nothing left on Asgard, but my memories and now, this baby. It will be a monarch, and if I don't go, Sleipnir will have to become king."

"What if Sleipnir refuses?" Steve said, mind whirring.

"Then it will fall to Jormungandr, and when he refuses, to Fenrir, and he will refuse also. And then Thor has no heir, and will have to get one by any means." Loki gasped, cheeks wet.

"Are you suggesting that Thor would cheat on you?" Steve said, anger in his voice. Loki laughed wildly.

"When a King has no heir, anything is possible!" he crowed. Steve seriously considered slapping him in order to jolt him out of his mood, but instead stood up and faced him. He put his hands on Loki's shoulders and faced him with a stern expression.

"Loki, Thor would rather swallow hot coals that cheat on you. He wants to go to Asgard to safeguard this baby, to give it the future it is born to. That baby is going to be king, or queen, and Thor will move Heaven, Hell, even Asgard to make it so. He loves you, so much, more than anything he left on Asgard. He wants you to be safe. He wants his baby to be safe. And it is being born on Earth. It will have that protection. But it is also the child of a King." He smiled at Loki and sat down again, drawing Loki to his chest and petting his hair. "It's going to be a ruler, and Thor needs you to be brave, so you can help secure the future for your baby."

"I have never been brave." Loki said after a while. His breath was cool on Steve's skin.

"Loki, you are the bravest man I know."

There was a pause, and then Loki's shoulders shuddered and he started to weep softly. Steve shifted and then drew them back onto the bed, where they lay the whole night, Loki crying in Steve's arms, and Steve holding him throughout.

When morning came, Steve left and passed Thor entering the floor. Thor rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked at Steve gratefully. 

"He's afraid." Steve said softly, stopping Thor. "He doesn't want to go back because he was so unhappy there."

"I am aware."

"He still doesn't want to go, so you still have that battle on your hands." Steve smiled wryly. "But he's ready to listen."

"Loki is stubborn." Thor muttered under his breath and went to his bedroom. Steve followed him with his eyes and then went back to his floor, immediately getting hit in the face with the pillow he had left Bucky with. He was floored, and Bucky sat on his chest, laughing and beating him with the pillow. Steve grinned and wrestled back, temporarily forgetting about the troubles a few floors away, and revealing in play fighting with his husband.

 

 

************

 

 

It still took a week. One whole week of summer storms, of freezing temperatures in the Tower. Of Thor sleeping on the couch on different floors, of Loki refusing to eat for the fear in his chest.

But when Loki said yes, it was in a voice gone soft with nerves, voiceless with fear. But Thor gathered him in his arms, and bore him to bed, and made him forget, at least temporarily, that he had something to be afraid of.

They had a week to get things ready, a week to pack, a week for Loki to wander around the Tower, committing everything to memory in case he was not to come back. 

So it was a nice surprise when they went to the top of the Tower after the week was up, bags already there, and saw the rest of the Avengers already there, with Loki's children as well.

"What..." Thor tried to say, and then stopped when Loki pressed his hand to Thor's back. Thor turned and saw that Loki was sniffing back tears as he watched his friends and children get ready. And they were. There were bags everywhere, with Pepper walking around with a clipboard, cataloguing everything. Tony is sneaking nips from a hip flask whenever she isn't looking at him, and giving it to Jormungandr who is leaning over his shoulder, hissing in his ear whenever he wants some whiskey. Everyone is alternately milling about and chatting. Hela is the only one dressed for the occasion, in robes of heavy navy blue velvet with a black trim, and a silver crown on her head. She's talking to Sleipnir, who is dressed in loose clothing with no shoes, and Thor suspects that he his going to be carrying her to Asgard, befitting of the Queen she is.

"Here they are!" Clint says. The group turns to them, and several people whistle.

"What is going on here?" Loki asks, waddling to Bucky who offers him his arm in support.

There's a pause, whilst the group look at each other. Then Bruce steps forward. As Loki's primary doctor (outside of Thor, who's own natural talent is heavily relied upon) he's the one who's been with Loki throughout the pregnancy. He's heavily invested in the baby (to be honest, they all are) and so will do anything in his power to ensure the baby's safety.

And that includes the safety of the mother.

"You honestly think we'd let you go alone?" he said softly.

Loki nodded slowly. 

"Loki, there's no way we'd let you go somewhere you might not be safe on your own, or with Thor. You need backup, and given the size of you, you need a lot of it." Clint says, then winces as he's slapped over the back of the head by Natasha. His children smile and say nothing. Liesle has come over and is rubbing his back.

"That doesn't mean you need all come." Thor said, finally coming over and setting his bags down with the others. Loki had been guided over and was now sitting on Tony's suitcase that held his armour.

"Dude, there is no way any of us are passing up an opportunity to go to Asgard." Sam said. Steve nodded as well.

"This is not a simple visit." Thor tried to explain, but immediately shut up when Tony, Clint and Sam started yelling about 'getting left out of the fun stuff.' He locked eyes with Loki, who simply nodded his head.

"Alright then. But I warn you, this takes some getting used to." He warned. Clint and Tony high-fived, and when Thor was sure everyone was ready, he called "Heimdall! Open the Bifrost!"

When Thor has finished blinking the light from his eyes, he turns to Loki and finds him standing shakily, face pale and his eyes closed. "Loki?" he says softly, coming over. Loki opened his eyes and gave Thor a weak smile.

"It is jarring." He said softly. Thor gripped his shoulder and looked at the others. His children are all fine, and Fenrir is helping Hela onto Sleipnir. The Avengers, not so much.

"Uuuuhhhh..." Tony groaned. He was laying on the floor, spread out like a starfish. Clint, Bruce, Betty and Bucky are sitting down heads between their knees. Natasha and Steve are holding each other upright, and Sam is standing with his head back, trying to re-oriant himself. Only Pepper was alright, although she was pale.

"Take a few minutes, get yourselves together." Thor said, amusement in his voice. Loki was snickering.

"How is  _that_ a good way to travel?" Natasha asked, voice incredulous. She was standing up by herself, with a hand on Steve's shoulder. 

Loki shrugged. "You got used to it after a while."

"That was awful." Bruce said under his breath. "That was fucking terrible."

"Then don't make it a habit." Heimdall finally came out of hiding, sword in hand. Behind him, Loki put a hand into Thor's who squeezed it tightly. Heimdall's eyes alighted onto Thor and he inclined his head.

"Your Royal Highness."

"Heindall." Thor's voice was tight. Heimdall smiled at him.

"You escort is coming, and I have sent word ahead to the palace to prepare more rooms."

"My thanks." 

Heimdall then looked at Loki, who stared back at him with his head high. "Loki Friggajarson, you concealed my gaze. I must commend you on that, if not the reasons for it."

Loki smirked at him, and the Avengers felt tingles down their spines at the familiar (and unwelcome) expression. "It's good to hear my abilities were up to scratch, even in such a back-handed way."

"Claws at dawn." Tony mumbled to Bruce, who nodded without taking his eyes away.

However, before a snarking match can be got into, there was the sound of hoofbeats and several horses are suddenly at the entrance to the Observatory. The Warriors Three and Sif wide them, and Thor was glad to see the,.

"My friends!" He cried and strode up to them as they dismounted. He gathered them all up into his arms and they all laughed together. It had been such a long time since he had seen them, he had missed them despite his closeness with the people he considered his family.

"Thor, you're breaking my ribs!" Fandral complained, but he slapped Thor on the shoulder and grinned at him when Thor released them all.

"Come." Thor said, going back to the Avengers and waving a hand towards them. "These are my companions on Earth."

The Warriors Three and Sif bowed, and the Avengers, sensing etiquette (although Tony did have to be prodded in the ribs), bowed back.

With the notable exception of Loki, who merely stared cooly at the people he hadn't even considered his friends. 

When the Warriors straightened, Loki walked as smoothly as he could (not at all) to Thor a put a hand on his arm. His other hand rested on the swell of his stomach, and his smirk was triumphant. 

"Loki." Volstagg summed up the feelings of the group with the single phrase, spoken coldly. Sif glared at him hard, and Loki looked down his nose at here, stepping closer to Thor until he was practically nuzzling his shoulder. Sif, when they were much younger, had been matched with Thor until both Thor and Sif had complained loudly enough that they were better friends than lovers, and the match was called off. But Loki had never forgotten.

(He had confessed to Bucky that it was one of the reasons he was so reluctant to go back. He was so afraid that Thor would forget his promises to Loki, and go back to his old friends. Bucky had slapped Loki upside the head and reminded him that Thor was as good as his, if nothing else than for the fact that Loki was carrying his baby.)

"Your horses are ready." Sif said and turned, walking back to the entrance. Their baggage glittered and disappeared, and they found out later that they bags had gone to their rooms and unpacked themselves. The Avengers followed, and even Tony was impressed by the horses waiting for them.  But Loki was looking worried.

"Thor," he said under his breath, leaning close, "I cannot ride. The baby."

Thor bit his lip and looked around. Clint and Natasha were already sitting, Bucky was coaxing Steve onto his horse (Bucky already rode, because in Russia in the Winter sometimes horsepower was better than vehicles) Sam, Betty and Bruce were eyeing their horses with intense mistrust, and Pepper was trying to coax Tony from the entrance, as he would not even look at the horses.

"Volstagg." Thor went to his friend and leaned in close. As he was the only Warrior with children, Thor hoped that he was going to be able to get across how dangerous to was that Loki should ride.

"Thor, don't worry." Volstagg smiled at him and the horses separated (Bruce absolutely  _did NOT_ squeal and close his eyes as he clutched the reins) and two horses came up to them, pulling a chariot behind them. Thor grinned at the others, and then turned to Loki. He looked less afraid and more resigned. 

"I have shit balance at the moment." He mumbled to Thor. Thor put a hand on the small of his back and guided him to the chariot, helping him up on to it.

"I shall steady you." He whispered back.

"Are we all set?" Sif called out. Everyone was now on their horses (some extremely reluctantly), and Fenrir and Sleipnir had changed into their animals forms. Hela was riding side-saddle without a saddle nor bridle, her fingers knotted into Sleipnir's mane, and Liesle had settled in comfortably on Fenrir's back, leaning forward and hand's gripping the ruff of his neck. Jormungandr was slithered alongside the chariot, in order to keep an eye on his mother.

"Let's go!" Handrail called and set off, the horses galloping after him and the chariot lurching into action.

"FUCKING HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELL!" Sam screamed and clung to the horse with his legs. Of all the Avengers riding, only Natasha, Bucky, Betty and Clint were riding with ease. The others were pale and sickly, not enjoying the experience in the least.

It took a good half an hour before they reached the gates of Asgard, and then the entourage stopped and Sif rode in from of them.

"Right, not we have to go in formation. Me and the Warriors Three will ride in two lines in front of the chariot, then the chariot will follow us. Behind it will be her Majesty on Sleipnir, then Fenrir behind her, with Jormungandr beside. Your Midgardians will follow two by two. Understood?"

"It's like being with a drill sergeant again." Bucky murmured to Steve, who snorted but didn't look away. They all got into position and the gates opened.

Loki prepared himself for hissing, for slights to his person and his baby, and threats to his life. 

He was pleasantly mistaken.

The doors opened, and the entourage were nearly blown away at the noise. The sun glittered off of the armour, and apple flowers the colour of a sunrise floated down. The Avengers were open mouthed, heads swivelling to catch every sight, every sound. Jormungandr grinned at Fenrir, who grinned back and let out a low laugh at Liesle as she jumped for joy. Hela stared straight ahead as befitting a Queen.

Loki stood int he chariot open mouthed, not even waving back until Thor put a hand on his shoulder.

"They welcome their Prince." He said to Thor under the noise. Thor merely smiled a him and pressed a kiss to his temple. The crowd roared harder. Beside the chariot, children skipped and brandished flowers. Jormungandr amused himself by breaking formation and slithering up to the children, rubbing his smooth scales against them and giving them rides when they got tired. 

The sight of a 50-foot snake playing with tiny children should have filled Asgard with horror, but now they were made of sterner stuff.

"This is fucking amazing!" Clint yelled, turning back and looking at the rest of the Avengers. Now the horses were no longer galloping, they were all sitting up and grinning. Tony and Pepper were taking multiple pictures on their phones, and ever time Sam pumped his fist, he got a responsive pump back from the crowned.

"It's like being at a Dodgers game!" Steve cried to Bucky, who nodded.

The entourage made their way to the entrance of the palace, which glittered in the sun. The Warriors Three and Sif dismounted, which prompted the Avengers to dismount in turn and they horses where whisked away by servants. Loki's children dismounted or changed back (with the exception of Jormungandr) and settled around their mother. Thor helped Loki down from the chariot and held his hand as they climbed the five steps to where Odin was standing, Huginn and Muninn on his shoulders and staff in hand.

"Father." Thor greeted and bowed. Everyone followed.

Everyone except Hela, who was of superior rank.

And Loki, who had long ago vowed he would never bow to anyone again.

When Thor straightened up, he took Loki's arm in his and brought his mate forward. "Father, your grandchild grows and is safe."

"As well he should be, for that child is soon to be the heir." Odin then turned to look at Loki. Loki looked at him steadily, not showing how hard his heart was beating.

"Loki."

"Odin." There was a sharp intake of breath from the Warriors Three at the disrespect, but Odin merely inclined his head and turned back into the castle. Everyone followed.

"There shall be a feast tonight to celebrate your coming home." Odin said over his shoulder. Loki concealed a groan. The last thing he wanted to do was sit down with all the nobility from Asgard and eat. He just wanted to change into something more comfortable, settle down with Thor and his friends and maybe play a few rounds of poker (stripping optional).

"Oh, goody." Bruce said glumly. He "oofed" as Betty stood on his foot as then smiled beatifically as Hogun turned to her at the noise.

"Servants shall show you to your rooms. You will all be in adjacent rooms, and shall be escorted to the feast together. Thor, you and Loki will be in your old rooms."

Thor nodded and then smiled at the others as they were lead in one direction and Thor and Loki went off in another. When they got to the rooms they had grown up in, Thor leaned back against the closed door and smiled at Loki, who was sitting on the bed and already slipping off his boots.

"That could have gone worse." He said, coming over and sitting down beside Loki, putting an arm around his shoulders and pulling him down to lie on the bed.

"A lot worse." Loki agreed and closed his eyes. He slipped into a light doze. He wanted all of his wits tonight.

 

 

**********

 

 

Th feast went a lot better than thought, as Pepper had threatened Tony on pain of divorce that he should behave himself. The food was as varied as it ever was on Asgarrd (that is, not at all), and even Clint, carnivore that he was, wondered out loud where the vegetables were. The glares he got could have set him on fire, and it was only Natasha leaning over to talk to Betty on Clint's other side, and her dress pressing close to her thigh to reveal the knives (plural) she had strapped there, that stopped then taking too loudly.

But after a week spent in Asgard, enjoying the scenery, it was the day after that last council meeting of the month that had Loki spending a sleepless night wandering around the corridors. Tomorrow was the Succession Ceremony, that would restore his newborn baby to the crown ahead of his half sibling. The paperwork would be dealt in the early morning, and the Ceremony would just be for show, mainly for the kingdom. But Loki still worried. There were still several hours until the ceremony, and something could still go wrong.

He made his way to his mothers garden, barefoot and wearing a loose robe over his long nightshirt. His hands cradled his baby bump gently, and the summer breeze tugged at his hair and caressed his cheek. He smiled and settled on a bench, breathing in the smell of grass.

When he had been a small child, this had been his sanctuary. His mother allowed no one else into her garden, not even Odin, except for the gardeners that maintained it. On hot summer days, right up until he was a young man, Loki was sit at his mothers feet and read to her, allowing her to stroke his hair. His eyes filled with tears as he remembered the last time he had done that, right before his coming of age.

"Ah, Mama." He breathed, tipping his head back. "I do miss you so."

"Is this her garden?" A voice asked. Loki opened his eyes and saw Natasha, Bruce and Bucky standing in the twilight, looking at him.

"I'm glad to see my protection detail is still on the case." He said with a smile. Bruce laughed and came over, sitting down beside Loki. Natasha took the other side and Bucky at down on the other side of the bench.

"Squidge over!" he said and Loki laughed as he complied, suffering over until both he and Bucky were sharing the same space.

"This is her garden." He said in answer to Bruce's question. "I am glad to see that the gardeners have maintained it."

"Odin's orders?" Natasha asked.

"I suspect so, although I did order to keep it maintained when I was King."

"Sounds like a classy lady." Bucky said softly. "Is there a picture of her?"

"A statue. In the main gardens, in the centre of the maze." Loki smiled at them. "I shall take you there tomorrow."

"I take it the maze is no longer a challenge for you." Natasha grinned, teeth shining. Loki laughed softly.

"The maze changes itself every six months. So if you get used to a particular pattern, you then lose it when the maze changes itself."

"It must have been great fun when you were a child." Natasha said.

"It was."

They sat in silence, enjoying the air and the silence, until Loki said and made to stand up. Bucky pushed at his back, and Bruce and Natasha pulled his arms, and he got onto his feet.

"I am greatly looking forward to being able to stand on my own again." Loki grumbled. The others laughed and escorted him back to his rooms.

As they passed one of the guards leading to his rooms, he was heard to mutter "Jotun whore." He supposed he was not meant to be heard, but everyone froze. Loki closed his eyes and clutched at his belly, intent on moving onwards. But the others turned around.

"Excuse me, could you please repeat yourself?" Bruce asked politely. Loki made to step forward, but Bucky put a hand on his arm and kept him behind the other three.

The guard narrowed his eyes and straighten his back, looking at the interlopers coldly.

"I said that he is a Jotun whore. He has seduced the Prince and connived his way to the throne, and he has used the natural curses to bend the prince to his tune. His spawn has no more claim to the throne than I do, and the world would be much better off if you and that bastard in your belly died tonight."

The air was still, and Loki could hear Bruce starting to growl. He preferred it if there wasn't a reason for Bruce to be bodily thrown off of the Bifrost, there was whirring sound and Bucky stepped forward. He was wearing nothing but a pair of sleep pants and his combat boots, and his arm was glinting in the low light. Steve's shield, in place of the red star, particularly caught the light. The arm was  Stark product, made of the same material as Steve's shield, and was much lighter, which meant that he no longer suffered from constant back pains. But he had kept the interlocking plates, and whirring sounds. The arm was a fake, and Bucky was perfectly happy to let people stare at him.

"You got a problem with him?" he asked. It was his Soldier voice, expressionless and hard. The guard, not realising what he was up against, sneered at him.

"He's a userper. He's nothing."

"Do you know what James means?"

The guard looked non-plussed. "I beg your pardon?"

"James. My first name. Do you know what it means?" With each word Bucky stepped minutely closer, so slowly that the guard didn't notice until it was almost too late.

The guard shakes his head, and Loki is gratified to see that the man is now sweating slightly.

"It means he who supplants, undermines, the  _heel_!" Bucky is now very close, whispering into the guards ear. The man is whimpering, knees shaking, and Loki smiles wider, showing sharp teeth. "I am the man who can topple governments, the one who sneaks into the very crevices of civilisation and with one pull of my finger, I can reduce people to ashes and dust. I am the Winter Soldier, the one feared by the assassins of Midgard everywhere." 

 _Click! Click!_ _Whir!_ Bucky's hand now grasps the mans spear and pulls it away. The man looked on helplessly as Bucky smiled a cold, cold smile and, with another whir of the plates as they tensed, snapped the spear in two. There was a pulse of blue light, and then the magic left the spear as it became dormant.

"So take me seriously when I tell you, if you say anything like that again, it won't cause me a sweat to  _fuck you up_ for the rest of you life."

Bucky gave the man one last chilling smile and then swept to Loki, taking him by the elbow and guiding him back to his room. Bruce and Natasha followed behind them and made sure that the guard couldn't follow them to retaliate.

(Not that that was possible. The man was busy whimpering quietly to himself, and would suffer serious nightmares for several weeks to come.)

Thor was leaning against the open door of his rooms, wearing a bedsheet around his waist and nothing else. He smiled softly and drew Loki into his arms when Loki drew close, placing a gentle kiss on his temple.

"Have you been wandering, love?" he asked softly. Loki closes his eyes and leans into Thor's warm skin, smelling the air before a storm that only Thor had as a body odour. Sharp with ozone, with the promise of hard rain, the kind you stood in because it hardly ever rained that hard.

The kind you danced in, because it warmed your heart.

Thor nodded to the others and they left, then he drew Loki into the room, closing the door softly. Taking Loki to the bed, he stripped them both to the skin and they lay down above the sheets. Loki was always too hot in the summer, especially now he was pregnant. And Thor had always had a very high body temperature. They often slept naked together, above the sheets, only touching by the hands clasped above Loki's belly.

Loki lay back against the pillows with a sigh and watched as Thor opened the balcony doors, letting the summer breeze waft through the room.

"This reminds me of when we were children in the summer, and we spent the nights in the main garden on a blanket." Thor said. He lay alongside Loki and Loki slipped his hands into Thor's hair, shifting it gently against the scalp. Thor sighed in pleasure, placing a hand on Loki's belly and the skin shift as his baby rolled over.

"Don't wake it up." Loki whispered.

"It dreams deeply. 'Tis a very happy baby." Thor kissed the skin.

"It's only 6 more weeks. 6 more weeks and then we shall have a baby." Loki smiled softly at Thor's expression. Thor was so excited to be a father, even though he had practically raised Loki's other children. He loved babies, and babies adored him.

"The names still stand?" Thor said after a while.

"They are good, strong names."

"They both have the same meaning." Thor said, amused. Loki snickered.

"I must say, our collective imaginations didn't really live up to our expectations." Loki said, amused as he remembered the day they picked out names. They had both just sat there when they blurted out the names, Loki picking the girls, Thor picking the boys. After a good 10 minutes of silence, Loki had simply sighed and said "Well that was easy." And they hadn't looked back.

"We really should get some sleep." Thor said and settled in beside Loki. Skin wasn't touching, as Loki was too hot, but he held hands.

"You have to be at the Council Room tomorrow to sign." Loki reminded him softly.

"I know." Thor settled back with a sigh, and closed his eyes, slipping off into sleep immediately.

Loki watched him sleeping with a smile on his face. He got to sleep in, the Succession Ceremony not happening until the late afternoon. He looked at his clothes, laid out for him. It was a maternity version of his formal clothes, black leather strapping across his chest but loose around his stomach, flowing simply down his belly. His leather legging were stretchy around the waist, and his knee-high boots were butter soft. His coat was substituted for simple green robes with a leather back and close fitting leather sleeves. He was forgoing his helmet, and his hair was going to be in a simple plait down his back.

Loki's eyes fluttered as he laid back, eyes heavy with tiredness. He sighed softly and slipped off to sleep.

He didn't dream.

 

 

************

 

 

It was a testament to Pepper's true control over Tony that he didn't fidget or whine as there stood on the stairs leading up to the throne. But he was boiling in his Iron Man suit. The Avengers had all decided that they would be attending the ceremony in their battle dress, as a testament to the strength of the planet that they represented (with the exception of Bruce, who wore a smart suit and a knowing grin). 

But it was Bucky and Tony who were suffering the most, Bucky in his heavy black uniform (it might have been the uniform of the Winter Soldier, but it was useful and it held the weight of the legend), and in metal under flame lights.

Loki's children stood on the steps below them, each dressed in smart Midgardian suits. Even Jormungandr was dressed up, although he garnered looked whenever his scaly skin caught the light. Only Hela was on the same level as Thor and Odin, for she was a Queen.

The Hall was filled with people, not just the usual nobility, but people from the other realms and from the outlying areas of Asgard. They were all straining to see, not just the Avengers standing on the stairs, but also Loki when he came down the middle of the Hall. The rumours had been of the most scandalous kind, and most of the nobility would see their own children if they thought that it might given them a chance of looking at a pregnant man, let alone one who was a King-Slayer and usurper. Loki would never be popular, but for the brief time he had been king, he had been a good one.

The noise in the Hall suddenly increased, and The Avengers, Loki's brood and Thor and Odin looked at the entrance, where the doors had opened and Loki was now walking down he isle.

During the week he had been packing, he had been practising walking with Natasha and Pepper, trying to do everything he could to disguise the waddle, even though many people would expect him to walk, being as enormously pregnant as he was. In the end, he had managed to disguise the waddle as much as he could, but as a consequence he swung his hips, so that (as one courtier snidely said) he walked like a woman.

Loki looked resplendent, his face glowing. One hand rested on his belly, stroking the baby as it kicked in response to his nervousness, the other clenched in a fist by his side. His eyes started straight ahead, but they flickered up to meet Thor's when he was halfway there. He let out a silent breath when he saw Thor smiling at him.

He reached the steps of the Throne and bowed shallowly. Normally he would have kneeled, but he would never have got up off the floor if he had.

"Odin All-Father, I stand before you, humble and penitent." He said.

Tony couldn't conceal his snigger, despite Natasha digging her elbow into his ribs. But even Steve and Bucky were unsuccessfully fighting back smiles. Loki hadn't been humble a day in his life.

"Loki. You stand before the Throne of the Nine Realms, defenceless and bowed. We have heard you petition, and have granted you acceptance. Come forward, and sign the document that will put your unborn babe in line for the Succession to the Throne." Odin intoned. He looked down at Loki with an unreadable expression in his eyes. 

Loki straightened up and put one foot on the steps, but then recognised a problem that he hadn't anticipated. He wasn't able to climb the steps on his own, mainly because he couldn't see his feet and his balance was shot to hell. He glanced up in panic, and saw that Thor had recognised this same problem. He quickly made his way down the steps and took Loki by the elbow, helping him up slowly. As he passed Bruce, he heard him release a slow breath and saw Betty squeeze his hand.

Loki stood in front of Odin, who nodded his head towards the side table by the Throne, where the document of Succession was sitting. It bore the signatures of all the councillors, Odin and Thor. Now it only needed Loki's and then it would be complete.

Loki stood in front of the table and gripped the pen in his hands, staring down at the document. He knew every word, having been in the rooms during the previous few days when it was being drafted. He knew that with this, his baby's future would be secure. It would be a King or Queen, ruler of one of the most prestigious kingdoms in the Universe. It would have the eternal protection of Asgard, be revered and loved, be praised.

And yet Loki still hesitated.

"Loki?" Thor prompted softly. He placed a hand on Loki's shoulder. Loki took a deep, shuddering breath.

"It cannot become King before time." He whispered.

"Not until it is ready." Thor promised.

Loki closed his eyes and felt for his baby. When his magic was kicked, he opened his eyes and then scrawled his signature, completely the document.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, with this signing of this document, the Right of Succession has been passed. Long Reign King Thor and his Regent, Loki. When the time comes, they will be all that Asgard could aspire for." Odin put a hand on Thor's shoulder, and the Hall roared.

"Oh, yeah!" Thor heard Clint say, pumping the air. Thor laughed and Loki grinned at him.

Loki squeezed the hand in his, causing Thor to look at his with glassy eyes filled with happiness. Loki gave him a sharp-toothed smile, and revelled in the cheers. He wasn't so naive as to think that he thought they might be cheering of him, but he was safe in the knowledge that, although his baby was half of him, he was also half of Thor. And Asgard loved Thor.

And so, through that, his baby was safe in the knowledge that it's legacy was secure.

 

 

**********

 

 

There would have ordinarily been a feast, but Thor had told Odin beforehand that they were going to spend that evening in his rooms with his friends, playing poker and telling stories.

It was the best evening that anyone had had for a long, long time.

 

 

**********

 

 

Loki was coming back from visiting his mother's statue when Odin managed to get him. He was crossing the empty hall, one hand on his belly and idly humming to himself when Odin saw him from his office.

"Loki."

Loki froze mid-step and turned his head slowly. The hand not on his belly reached slowly behind his back, grasping the hilt of the dagger he kept tucked into the back of his trousers. He didn't trust Odin for a second.

"All-Father." He said, dipping his head in greeting. Instead of being frowned at, Odin kept a purposefully blank face. Loki felt increasingly uneasy.

After a long pause, Loki was about to move away when Odin said "Would you please come in here?"

Loki felt his body go cold. "Why should I?"

Odin raised an eyebrow. "I wish to speak to you."

Loki huffed a laugh. "I have nothing to say to you."

"Well I have some things to say to you."

Loki's jaw trembled and he clamped it shut. He stood still for a couple of seconds, then swayed towards Odin and swept past him, walking in to the room. He quickly turned around. He wasn't about to keep his back to Odin.

"Thor will rain Hell down on your head if you hurt me." Loki warned. Odin closed the door and went to the other side of the long table, allowing Loki the meagre protection of distance.

Odin chuckled. "I know better than to challenge Thor's love of you. Even when you were brothers he held you above everything else, even his parents."

Loki shrugged. "He loves me, I love him. Love is love."

"When I became aware of how your relationship had changed, I cursed you, because I believed that you had bewitched him."

Loki's eyes widened and he paled, lips trembling in fury. "I would not have thought that you could hold me in lower esteem that you previously had. But I see in your eyes I have managed to reach new lows."

Odin sighed and rubbed a hand over his forehead. "Loki..."

"No, I see how it is." Loki was steaming. He put his hands flat in the table and leaned in, his form effortlessly shifting to Jotun form. His horns arched high, his teeth turned sharp and his eyes glittered red. His long black claws dug furrows into the wooden table. "Thor would never lower himself to be with a being like myself, so of course it has to be an enchantment. He could never love Loki, not faithless, murderous Loki! _Not Loki, who is a Jotun, and therefore scum_!"

"ENOUGH!" Odin roared. Loki leaned back, shocked, but his appearance didn't shift. He watched as Odin sighed and rubbed his eyes. "I will not hear you speak such things."

Loki sneered. "Of course. We must not insult you precious son or the future heir of Asgard."

"Or the future regent."

"That must have hurt, including that particular clause in the document."

"Thor insisted." Odin said. He said it quietly. 

Loki sighed and rubbed the spot between his eyes. "At least my future is secured." He said under his breath.

"And that of your child." 

Loki eyed Odin. "Keep away from my baby. It belongs to me, not you." He hissed.

Odin held up his hands. "Your baby is yours. I know what I did in the past was wrong, but I truly thought I was doing right by you."

Now, they had come into the crux of the matter. The facts that they had been avoiding since Loki had stepped onto the landing platform on Asgard. They had spent two weeks dancing around each other.

"How," Loki said, slowly, forcing the words out through clenched teeth, "could you possibly think that taking my children away from me, forcing one to be your steed, one to be plunged into the seas of an unknown planet and one to be  _run off_ by your OWN GOD OF WAR!"

"If you think that I would even sanction what happened to Fenrir, you are even madder than I had previously thought." Odin replied hotly.

"Mad?" Loki laughed, high and out of control. "How could I be mad? My son was going to die, I wasn't exactly using rational thought."

"Loki, did you never wonder why I didn't prosecute you for killing Tyr and staking his body out in front of the palace?"

Loki snorted. "I assumed that it was because you didn't want to admit that a Prince of Asgard could be so brutal!" He said viciously.

"Loki, if you hand't got to him first, I would have had him flogged to death in front of the entire Court."

Loki froze. His heart seemed to have stopped in his chest and he stared with wide eyes at Odin. He didn't know what to think.

"Loki, if you hadn't got to him before I, I would have torn the flesh from his bones, and made him a feast for the crows."

"Why?" Loki gasped out.

Odin looked at Loki. His face was still stern but his eyes were kind. "He's my grandson."

There was a pause. "And Jormungandr? Sleipnir?"

"Sleipnir had made is abundantly clear where he stands on his being my steed. I can either ride him or not."

Loki's lipped trembled. "And Jormungandr?"

Odin sighed heavily and sat down. He gestured for Loki to sit down, but Loki continued to stand.

"Jormungandr would have been lynched, had he stayed. He killed a member of a prominent Court family. I had to send him away in such a way as to ensure that he would neither come back, nor encourage any of the members of the court to follow him."

"Do your schemes never end?" Loki growled.

"I believe the expression is pot calling the kettle black." Odin said wryly. 

"At the moment, I have no schemes."

"Ha!" Odin barked out a laugh. "Loki, you are my son, you never have nothing less that three schemes on at any moment in time."

There was a fraught silence as Odin realised what he had said and Loki froze again, staring out of the window with watering eyes. He took a shaky breath and fought back the urge to wipe his eyes on his sleeve (like a child).

"I am not your son." He said finally, almost whispering.

"Your are my son."

" _I am not your son!_ " Loki whirled around, hissing and eyes crazed. "I have never been your son! Your son is Thor! Your son is your heir! You love Thor! And you lied to me!" Now Loki started to cry. Great big tears dripped down his face and on to the table. "My whole life, you lied to me about who I was, what I was! I thought I was a freak, a monster!"

"Never!" Odin said, standing up and coming around the table. But Loki put a hand out and backed away. He covered his face with his other hand and his shoulders shook with the force of his sobs.

"All I wanted was for you to accept me." Loki cried. "I spent years waiting for you to notice me."

"Loki-"

"Why didn't you tell me?" Loki dropped his hand and gazed at Odin with heartbroken eyes. "Why didn't you tell me what I was?"

"It was your mothers idea." Odin admitted.

Loki almost stopped crying. "Mother's idea?"

Odin nodded. He gulped back his own tears. It had only been a decade since her death, but it still hurt. "I was open to the possibility of an arranged match, but she wanted to raise you as a son. She adored you from the moment she saw you, and I agreed." Odin wanted to run a hand through his hair, but didn't. He was a king, after all. "You were...so small. So delicate. You rarely cried, didn't make a fuss. When Thor saw you, he wouldn't let go of you. If you were lying on an area he could reach, he would snatch you and run from the room with you so he could hold you by himself. Thor was besotted with you, and I was loathe to change that."

Loki was silent as he absorbed this. He had never heard this before.

After a long silence, Odin looked at Loki. The tears had stopped, and he was looking at the table, unable to meet Odin's eyes. 

"The reason I may not have payed you the attention you deserved when you were younger was because I believed you got the attention from your Mother. You were ever your mother's son, so much so that I see her in you, even now. And she loved you so much, I believed that was enough. I'm sorry I was wrong."

Odin walked past Loki to the door, but before he reached it, he turned and said to Loki's back "You were a good king, for however brief a time. Your tax reforms stand even now."

Loki took in a sharp breath and his hands caressed his belly. Just as Odin was about to exit the room, he heard Loki talk.

"If it's a boy, it will be called Magni. A girl, it shall be called Thrúd."

Odin nodded his head. Loki looked at him out of the corner of his eyes as he left the room. When he was sure that Odin had gone, he walked as quickly as he could to his rooms. When he opened the door, he saw Thor, Bucky, Jormungandr and Liesle sitting in front of the fire playing poker. Thor was about to greet Loki when he saw the look on his face. He stood up and went to Loki, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Loki?" he asked softly. Loki looked at him and burst into tears.

"I forgive him!" He sobbed. "I forgive him! And I miss her! I miss her so much!"

Thor closed his eyes and held Loki to his chest.

There was nothing he could say.

 

 

***********

 

 

In constrast to their arrival, their departure was a quiet affair. They were all tired, and so mingled about with each other talking softly. Loki was standing by the edge, playing magical peek-a-boo with his child. When the gateway opened, and the Avengers started to leave, he watched as Odin gave Thor as strong hug. He released Thor and then looked at Loki, giving him a nod. But Loki nodded back this time.

"Was this worth it?" Bucky asked softly as Steve stepped into the light. Loki looked at his friend with a small smile. He thought about everything that he had learned, what he had gained, and what he had forgiven.

"Yes." He said softly as he smiled at Thor, who smiled back before disappearing. "Yes, it was worth it."

**Author's Note:**

> Next Story Hint: The characters are based a lot off the characters from 'Loki Wrapped in Red', as it appears to be a favourite story of mine, and is actually my own favourite form what I have written.


End file.
